Into the Underground
by pickalily
Summary: When Petra's boyfriend Erwin disappears into the mysterious crack in the wall, she decides that she'll do whatever it takes to bring him back, even if it means she'll have to navigate the dangerous Underground. Luckily she has the reluctant but talented Rivaille on her side as well as his trusted friend Hanji to help her out. AU.
1. The Crack in the Wall

_A/N: Heavily influenced by Syfy's Alice miniseries. Still working out a little bit of the plot as I'm going along because not a lot of the problems in Alice are easily interchangeable with the SnK characters and its universe but hopefully I'll be able to find something._

 _Rated T because Levi can't watch his fucking language._

* * *

She nervously sipped on her coffee and let out a small yelp when the hot drink burned her tongue. Perhaps this was punishment for drinking caffeine so late at night but she couldn't help it. The only thing that could calm her nerves right this moment was a soothing cup of coffee. She blew on it impatiently and sipped it a little more cautiously, making a displeased face. It was still too hot.

"You okay, Pet?" her friend Erd asked, rubbing small circles in her back with one hand. "I don't see why you're so nervous about this. You've been dating him for a while and he's a nice guy from what you've told us."

She shrugged, cupping her hands around her mug. If she couldn't take comfort in her cup of coffee, she'd just make do with the warmth from the drink, damn it. "First meetings are always nerve-wracking. What if you guys don't like him?" Petra fiddled with an imaginary string on her sweater.

Gunter laughed and patted her head affectionately. "If you like him, then I'm sure he's good enough for any of us."

Petra smiled at him, dimples appearing in her cheeks. Her friends were, of course, right. There was no reason for them to dislike Erwin Smith. He was a genuinely upstanding guy who dressed nicely and drove a snazzy car. His hair was always on point (as well as his eyebrows) and he always opened doors for her, old ladies, and children. He was so perfect that Petra had half a mind to group him in with unicorns and other mythical beings that didn't exist. She was lucky he had even noticed her while she was working her shift at the teashop she worked at part time. She had been sneaking glances at him the minute she had seen him walk through the door (as did nearly every female staff member) and was elated when she had found he had scrawled his number on a napkin when she went to clean up his table. When she texted him that night, she found out he was charming and that he was even more charming in person when they went on their first date the following Friday. He always pulled her chair out for her and paid for her dinner. Erwin Smith was the apotheosis of perfection. Still…

"You've waited a long time to have him meet us," Auruo remarked observantly. "It's been, what, a little over six months. What gives?"

"I didn't want you guys to embarrass me in front of him," she retorted. That wasn't the entirely the truth though. Petra bit the inside of her cheek anxiously, thinking about all of the other tragic dates she had. Sure, they were in the past, but all of those guys had seemed pleasant enough in the beginning too.

"You know, just because all of the other guys left you doesn't mean he will," Erd said quietly.

"But if he does, I'll come to your rescue, Petra baby," Auruo said, flexing his arm.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll doubt I'd need any of your help but thanks," she snorted

"Yeah, she could probably snap my neck," a deep voice chuckled.

Petra looked up to see a tall blonde man and she felt her heart throb in that familiar way it did whenever she saw her boyfriend. _Stop it, stupid,_ she told herself. _You've been dating him for months. You should be used to this._ She smiled brightly at him, tucking a lock of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear.

"Hi, Erwin," she said, trying not to sound too ecstatic despite her erratic heartbeat. Who was she trying to kid? He could probably hear her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest from where he was standing.

"I hope I didn't keep you and your friends waiting too long," he said, sliding easily beside her in the booth. Erwin slipped his arm around her waist and he leaned in to kiss her forehead. She could feel her heart flutter at the touch of his lips on her skin.

She cleared her throat, trying to collect her thoughts so she could properly function. "It's fine," she assured him quickly. "They're very eager to meet you. This is Erd, Gunter, and Auruo. We've been friends since university." Petra gestured at all of her friends in turn and they all gave Erwin a head nod – the one universal man greeting that she would never understand.

"We're glad to finally meet you," Erd said, grinning widely.

"Yeah, Petra won't shut up about you," laughed Auruo.

She gave Auruo her most threatening death glare but he didn't even notice. Despite being her childhood friend, Auruo was the one who always got on her nerves the most. She shouldn't have been surprised that he was now ruining her image in front of her boyfriend.

"So how did you actually meet our Pet here because she insists that it was pretty much love at first sight but we all know her dating history…" Gunter flashed Petra an impish grin and she moved to kick his leg but missed, hitting Auruo instead, who gave her a wounded look while rubbing his shin. Tch, Auruo could be so dramatic. She didn't kick him _that hard._

"Well…" chuckled Erwin good-naturedly.

He began to recant their first encounter and Petra couldn't help but notice how on edge he was. His hand, normally sitting firm on her waist, was slack and she nearly forgot it was there at all. His voice, usually strong and bold, was quieter now. Was he nervous about meeting her friends too? It didn't make any sense to her. He was always so charming and charismatic. Heck, even the waiters at the restaurants they went to knew him by name.

It was then that she began to notice his eyes flitting every once in the while to the window as if he were looking for something. When she turned her head to glance at the window she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. There was the usual blur of people in coats rushing to get home at this late hour, but nothing to feel like there was something unnatural going on. She squinted her eyes, straining to see anything at all that Erwin might have been looking for and was startled when a hand brushed the side of her face.

"What are you looking at, Pet?" Erwin asked her.

"I…" She grasped for something in her mind to say. He looked genuinely concerned. Maybe she was just imagining it before and he was only gazing out of the window like a normal person, not looking for anything at all. "Nothing," she mumbled quickly. "I guess I'm just a bit out of it today."

She was surprised at how quickly he stood up, as if he were eager to leave. "Perhaps we should take our leave now," he suggested, offering her a gallant hand. She might have been making things up again, but she could have sworn that he snuck another glance out of the window from the corner of his eye. "Shall I take you home, Petra?"

"That would be nice," she said. Looking at his hand, she faltered and pretended not to see it, instead raising a hand to fix her hair and hoping he wouldn't notice. He didn't seem to, hastily shoving his hand into his coat pocket and taking another look (so she wasn't imagining it!) out of the window. She flashed him a smile that she hoped seemed like her normal cheerful self. "Thank you, Erwin."

Her friends bid them goodbye, not seeming to notice anything off about the couple. The two didn't say anything as they stepped into Erwin's car and the ride to Petra's apartment was relatively quiet. Erwin would normally initiate the conversation but today he was strangely quiet. He glanced more frequently at the rearview mirrors than he typically would have any other night, she noticed. He was always a cautious driver but he had never been more alert than he was that night.

"Did you like meeting everyone?" Petra asked as they neared her abode. Her question sliced through the unsettling quiet and she still couldn't help but wish that she hadn't spoken at all. Her hands were folded anxiously together, thumbs twirling together nervously. "They all seem to like you, not that that's a surprise." She let out a nervous, shaky laugh. _Don't be a dumbass,_ she scolded herself. _Nothing's the matter. It's all in your head._

He looked over at her, eyebrows raised as if he was surprised that she had opened her mouth. "They're good people," he replied breezily, voice as smooth and velvety as melted chocolate. "I'm not surprised. You have excellent taste in people." He pulled up against the curb and leaned over to kiss her on the corner of her mouth.

She smiled at him, blushing a little. She probably was just imagining him being more distant this evening. Her damns could make her so dumb sometimes. "Hey, I'm sorry if I was acting a little weird tonight," she said, laughing a little at her own stupidity. "I guess I was just jittery about everything."

Erwin brushed the side of her face with the back of his hand affectionately. "Don't be sorry, you were fine." He fiddled with something in his coat pocket. "Anyway, I've been meaning to give this to you, Pet…" His right hand appeared in front of her face, a small jewelry box was opened in the palm of his hand to reveal a small silver ring with an impressive multi-faceted red gem in the middle.

She was completely speechless and she could feel her mind slowly go blank. Any girl would be ecstatic, probably jumping up and down by now. Petra only wanted to throw the damn thing as far as she could and run all the way back to her apartment. "Why?" she finally managed to say.

He seemed to sense her horror and quickly shut the box. He shrugged nonchalantly, as if the piece of jewelry was as insignificant as it was small. "I just thought it would look beautiful on your finger," he replied. His eyes met hers, blue to amber, in such a serious intense gaze that she had difficulty remembering to breathe. A large hand closed around her small one and she felt his thumb rub circles in the back of her hand. "You know, I care very much about you, Petra, but if you're not comfortable with this I can just return it."

"Yes, get rid of it," she breathed. She realized it sounded but she just wanted to be as far away from it as possible. Erwin was amazing. He was easily the most attentive, affectionate, and thoughtful boyfriend she had ever had, but the thought of anything that resembled a more committed relationship than what they had now frightened her beyond anything in her worst nightmares.

He sat back in his seat with a look of what seemed like disappointment on his face. "I see." The box disappeared into his pocket and she could breathe easier now. "I guess it's time for you to head back to your apartment now. You look like you could use a good rest. You seemed a little unsettled at the café tonight."

Petra only shrugged, leaving the car with her boyfriend following closely behind her. What was there to say? He'd probably leave her tomorrow anyway. What kind of girl would run from a committed relationship with Erwin Smith? _Only an idiot like me_ , she thought bitterly. Nevertheless, she was surprised when she found Erwin holding the door to the complex for her.

"Thank you," she muttered politely, refusing to look at him. What would she see if she looked at him? Disgust, anger, disappointment, or maybe a mixture of the three? Whatever it was, she'd never be able to bare it.

"Petra." His hand found its way to the side of her face, tilting her head up so Erwin could look at her properly. "I'm not mad." He leaned down to kiss her and, surprisingly, she kissed him back as she felt his arms envelope her. Maybe it would work out this time.

When he finally pulled away he gave her another look but his face was unreadable. "Goodbye, Petra," he said, smiling at her.

"Bye," she said shyly, smoothing her hair down even though there probably wasn't anything wrong with it. She watched him as he walked out of the lobby and back into his car. She waited until she saw the black car drive away from her building before she let out a breath. Funny how she hadn't even realized she was holding a breath in.

She wasn't really sure why but she felt strangely empty. Surely she should have felt happy that Erwin wanted to give her such a beautiful ring but at the same time the sight of that red jewel made her feel so unbelievably queasy she could barely stand anymore. Petra grabbed onto the bar as soon as she reached the elevator, shoving her other hand in her pocket. When her hand hit something hard and rectangular in her pocket she frowned. She didn't remember having anything in her pocket before. She pulled out the mysterious object and let out an exasperated sigh when she found the box holding the ring Erwin had been ready to give her just moments before. _That sneaky bastard probably slipped it into my pocket while we were kissing,_ she thought furiously. Still, her heart fluttered and she couldn't help but think that maybe he did want to stay with her.

Despite the fact that the earlier sight of the gem made her feel faint, Petra opened the box again. She took a quick intake of air when she saw the ring. It was brilliant, sparkling with every ray of light that hit any of its facets. Whoever made this ring knew exactly what he was doing. Still, she couldn't help but wonder why Erwin was so compelled to get her something so expensive even though they've only been dating for a little more than half a year.

A dark shadow covered the light and Petra looked up to find a tall man with a receding hairline and a grim expression. She couldn't recall him ever living in her building at all, much less ever being in the elevator with her when she had first come in. Then again, she had been pretty distracted this evening.

"May I help you?" she asked him, quickly shutting the box and hiding it back in her pocket. She tossed her head as if she didn't care very much to help him and hoped he didn't hear the slight quiver at the end of her question. Something about him was just kind of…off to her.

The man put on a polite smile but the grim look didn't disappear from his eyes and she resisted the urge to shiver. "You were looking at a very beautiful ring, my dear," he said to her quietly. He didn't back away from her and his looming height over her made her curse her short stature. "That young man, Erwin Smith, gave it to you?"

"How do you know his name?" she snapped. Fuck pleasantries, this guy was creeping her out. The fact that he referred to her as his "dear" hadn't helped either. Not only was he bigger than her, his gaunt face looked even more emaciated due to the dark circles under his eyes and the frown lines around the corners of his mouth. She pulled the box out of her pocket and hid it behind her back with both of her hands, trying to get it as far away from the man as possible. She couldn't possibly overpower him but maybe…

The man shrugged as if the information didn't matter. "We work together," he replied easily. He gestured toward the box behind her back. "Unfortunately that ring isn't his to give. It belongs to another girl. Heartbreaking, I know but…"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. As if anyone would ever believe such an obviously made up tale. Instead she bit her lip and allowed tears to well up in her eyes, fiddling with the box behind her back. "Whom was it supposed to go to then?" She looked up at him through her eyelashes, a fake tear running down her cheek.

The man cleared his throat, probably uncomfortable because he was now in the presence of a crying woman. "Just another girl he had been seeing for quite a while now," the man replied, clearing his throat a bit.

Jeez, what a terrible liar. Petra shoved the box into his hands, her left hand in a tight fist still behind her. "Take it then," she said, hastily wiping her eyes with her right hand. "Take the stupid thing and give it back to Erwin."

The man let out a happy sigh. She was a little annoyed. The least he could do was pretend to be concerned that she was so distraught about her cheating boyfriend. "Would you like me to say anything to Erwin for you?" he asked her, tearing his eyes off of the box and shoving it into his pocket.

The elevator dinged, alerting Petra that she had reached her floor. "No," she spat bitterly, stepping out of the elevator. She didn't even bother looking back at the man as the elevator door closed, instead just walking slowly to her door. Once the doors closed, she sprinted as fast as she could to the stairs and rushed down. Thank god going downstairs was quicker and less painful than going up. Now where the hell was that odd man going?

When she finally reached the lobby, she waited in the corridor, hoping she hadn't missed him. If she didn't see him in a couple of minutes she'd probably just go back to her room and ask Erwin about it in the morning. _After all_ , she thought, looking at what she had hidden in her left fist, _I still have the ring._ She quickly shoved it into the pocket of her jeans so she wouldn't lose the damn thing. How could such a small thing cause so much trouble?

After a few minutes she saw the strange man, clad all in black, giddily making his way out of the door. The idiot probably hadn't checked the box to see if it was empty. What an idiot. She waited a few beats before pursuing him, making sure to walk among the shadows at a safe difference to make sure he didn't see her.

He was walking awfully fast and, Petra thought after a while, awfully far. She'd never walked this far before. They were nearing the outskirts of Sina and were reaching the wall that separated the city with Rose, the neighboring city. There were rumors of strange incidents going on around the walls if Petra recalled correctly. People would go missing or show up with no recollection of how they got there. The fact that it was so damn dark wasn't helping her nerves either.

She squinted, trying to get her eyes to adjust to this level of darkness. What on earth would require this guy to sneak out to the wall with the stupid ring? He finally reached the wall – a dead end. Strangely enough he didn't seem too distraught, just walked along the wall until he reached a rather thin crack and, to her surprise, another figure emerged from among the shadows. Straining her eyes, she soon realized that it was the silhouette of Erwin Smith. He didn't seem pleased to see the strange man and Petra resisted the urge to stomp over there and demand to know what the hell was going on. She saw him exchange some harsh words with the man. It was then that the realized she'd never seen Erwin Smith angry. Annoyed, maybe, but even from this distance she could see that the tall blonde was someone to be reckoned with when he was in a temper. He looked just about ready to strangle the strange man right until the man triumphantly showed him the box she had handed over earlier. Erwin seemed to cool down considerably and he stopped talking.

The stranger put the box in the inside of his coat, reaching out to touch Erwin's arm, but Erwin only shoved him away and stalked over to the large crack in the wall by himself, the man following behind him hurriedly.

Petra narrowed her eyes. They couldn't possibly be thinking about going inside that ominous crack, could they? She was nearly convinced that she had blinked because the next thing she knew, Erwin and the man accompanying him had disappeared within the crack.

 _What on earth…_ She hesitantly walked up to the crack when she was sure that the two of them wouldn't return, fingering the ring her pocket nervously. She didn't have to follow him down there. She could have just gone home, called her friends and maybe the police. She could have just shoved everything into the back of her mind and slept it all off. Maybe the whole thing would turn out to be a weird dream. That's probably what any rational person would do. Still, there was something so creepy about how the two had disappeared into such a deep, ominous crack and Petra couldn't help but feel drawn to the eerie darkness.

It felt more like a dream more than real life, stepping towards that wall. When she reached the wall, she put her hand on the jagged opening in the cold stone barrier. Peering into the black, she couldn't see a thing. Nevertheless, she took a step into the wall and the last thing she remembered was that she was falling.


	2. Rivaille

_She traced meaningless swirling figures lightly onto his strong, muscled back. As her fingers reached his shoulder her reached back, taking his hand in hers. He pulled her hand gently to his face, kissing her delicate fingers tenderly. She nuzzled her head against the space just below his neck, muttering something groggily. What was it? Maybe that she loved him even though she had only been dating him for two and a half months. That would be a record confession and a vast improvement, considering that she had never uttered those three words to her last boyfriend despite dating him for a miserable two years._

 _"Petra," he said, his voice so velvety and soft in the quiet of her room. He turned his head to look at her and she saw something in his eyes that she hadn't seen in them before. It was a strange sort of sadness but he had no reason to be sad, did he? They were here after all and this date had gone so smoothly that Petra was convinced that she had unknowingly sold her soul to the devil for all of this good luck. "Are those your parents in that picture?"_

 _She grudgingly got up to reach across Erwin and grab the framed picture on her dresser. She hadn't paid much attention to it recently except to dust it every once in a while when she was cleaning her house. Petra's fingers wandered lightly across the faces of the two people in the picture, tracing the jaw of her father. "Yeah," she said, sitting back onto her bed. Erwin's hand snaked around her waist and he pulled her into his lap. Her head rested on the crook of his neck and she studied the photo some more. "They're my parents."_

 _"You look a lot like your mother," he said to her. "She's very beautiful."_

 _She shrugged. "I never knew her. My dad said she died shortly out I was born. He said I would have loved her though." She said this as if none of this was any big deal. Truth be told, the fact that she never had a mother growing up bothered her greatly when she was younger. It was always like there was something missing in her life but she couldn't really say what. After all, her father was incredibly attentive and caring. He came to all of her musical recitals as a child and stuck all of her pictures on the fridge. Petra shook all of these depressing thoughts out of her head. Erwin wouldn't want to hear any of this._

 _"I'm sure your father was right." He sounded sure that Petra had to glance at him rather strangely. He smiled when he saw her confused expression. "Being right must be a Ral thing, right?"_

 _She laughed rather bitterly. "Maybe. Do you think my dad was right about leaving me then?" she asked sarcastically. She knew she shouldn't have been taking her anger out on him. It's not like he knew about her family life or lack thereof._

 _"Leaving you?" he echoed._

 _"It's nothing," she muttered, placing the picture facedown on her bed. "It was just the strangest thing, you know? He was never really the type to just up and vanish but one day he did. Isn't that weird? When I was a kid I'd sometimes catch him looking at me all panicked whenever he lost sight of me for just a second. Then he'd hug me so hard like he was afraid that if he didn't hold on to me hard enough I'd vanish."_

 _"That's strange…" Erwin murmured. He brushed a lock of hair away from his girlfriend's face, smoothing it down as it fell across her back, but his eyes never strayed away from the picture frame. "When did he disappear?"_

 _"When I was nineteen," she responded immediately. Stupid how she could remember the exact date even when it seemed so long ago. "Four years ago. We called the police and they searched for him for days. There was no trace. It was like he just fell off the face of the earth." To her horror, she felt the bottom of her lip quiver and a tear run down her cheek. Dammit, dammit. She promised herself she wouldn't cry about this anymore and yet here she was, crying like the day her father had gone._

 _Erwin leaned forward, kissing her jaw, her cheeks, and her lashes. His kisses were warm and soft on her skin, not demanding anything of her except that she let him be there for her. She felt his warmth and melted against him as he enveloped her, holding her closely against him. He didn't say anything. He didn't tell her it would be okay like most other people had in the past. He only held her like she was the most fragile thing in the world, stroking her blonde hair and kissing her face gently._

 _"Why did he leave?" she whispered shakily._

 _He cupped her chin in his hand and turned her face to look at his. His forehead lightly rested against hers. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she stared into his eyes. They were so blue, so sad, and so serious. "I'll never leave you," he told her, and he closed the gap between them, leaning in for a kiss, which she returned._

 _The last thing she remembered thinking was, "Liar."_

xxxxx

Petra woke up with a pounding headache and a horrible soreness in her neck. She rubbed her neck, hoping the pain would quickly fade away. When she opened her eyes, she expected to be surrounded in darkness. She wasn't entirely wrong. It was dark, yes, but if she strained her eyes hard enough she could make out stars shining up in the sky and there was no mistaking the shining silver moon somewhere off in the distance. Strange. She grunted, getting up and brushing herself off. Her clothes were filthy and covered in dirt as if she'd fallen down a hole in the ground. _That's what it felt like_ , she thought to herself, remembering her last moments before she was engulfed in darkness. If she had fallen through a hole in the ground, how on earth, why could she see the sky? Unless someone had seen her fall inside the crack in the wall that night but she didn't seem to remember anyone around at the time except for Erwin and the mysterious man. And, she realized as she looked around, this didn't look anything like the city of Sina or even Rose, the city on the other side of the wall. Where was she?

She seemed to have fallen, or at least woken up, at the base of a tree in a large forest. That is, the forest was large but what made the forest large were the massive trees. They were immense, like trees she had imagined as a kid. They seemed to stretch from the ground all the way up to the stars.

Her brow wrinkled. She never seemed to recall Sina having any underdeveloped land. If she remembered correctly, Sina had been urbanized long ago. Only the outer cities Rose and Maria would have any forests like these, but she was sure that they had never mentioned anything like this whenever they mentioned Rose and Maria.

She clenched her fists and bit her lip. She'd never find out where she was let alone where Erwin was just standing here. Petra ignored her own fears, shoving them into the back of her mind. She might have been scared, but she wasn't helpless. She'd find a way out and she'd find Erwin, she decided. As she wandered around the forest, she found the quiet creepier and creepier. Maybe she should have been content with silence. Silence meant that no one was there so no one could hurt her. At the same time, it meant that absolutely nothing else was in the forest. Sometimes she would stop walking, straining her ears to listen for even the faintest rustle of leaves only to hear nothing at all. Were there no animals in this forest either? The thought made her shiver and hug her arms tightly around her.

Petra forced herself to keep on walking. Freaking out about things wasn't going to help anyone, she decided. She had to remind herself to breathe. Her breathing was getting shallower with every step she took. Her teeth were gritted and her fists clenched tightly. If she hadn't woken up just moments before she would swear that she was still dreaming. Part of her hoped that she was still sleeping but another side of her hoped to explore this strange new world for some bizarre reason.

Huh. If she narrowed her eyes enough, she could see a huge lump slumping against a tree. A voice in the back of Petra's mind screamed at her to turn back and run away as fast as she could. Probably against her better judgment, Petra trudged to the strange figure. With ever step, she regretted her decision more and more. Still, she refused to turn away. This was her decision and she was going to stick with it.

Her brain couldn't comprehend it the first time she took a good look at it. It looked…human. But it clearly wasn't. It was far too big, at least fifteen meters in height. Furthermore, its facial features were too distorted to be fully human. It was as if a caricature had been brought to life. Its mouth was enormous and was gaping unattractively. The thing didn't seem to be awake but its eyes, its god-awful eyes, were wide open. It was something out of a cruel nightmare, where the dreamer had taken ever aspect of a human and stretched it out into some grotesque parody of a person.

She should have bolted but something rooted to the spot and soon she could hear a shrill shriek. It took her a moment to realize that horrified scream was coming from her own throat but she couldn't stop. The scream ripped through her vocal cords. Petra clapped her hands over her mouth quickly, trying to stifle the shriek but it didn't help. She kept screaming and she couldn't stop. This horrifying thing was just too terrifying. She could feel her brain shut down and her head getting faint. She just wanted to get out. All she wanted was to wake up and find her boyfriend next to her, realizing all of the recent events were some kind of twisted dream.

Petra didn't stop screaming even when she felt hands on her shoulders, shaking her violently. She stood there rooted to the spot, unable to look away from the horrifying being while wanting to forget the disgusting thing ever existed.

"Miss! Miss!" A hand slapped her across the face and she shut up. The same hand was clamped down on her mouth and she turned around to see a tall, brown-haired man with a worried expression. "When I let go, are you still going to be quiet?"

She nodded.

He let go, wiping the back of his hand against his brow. "Are you okay?"

Still unable to say anything, Petra only nodded her head numbly.

The man took her hand, walking her quickly away from the slumped giant. "Don't look at it," he told her when she turned her head to see if it had moved. It didn't seem to have even lifted a finger. "It's sleeping. It won't move as long as the sun isn't up."

"What is it?" she croaked. Her voice was cracked from all of her shrieking. Petra frowned and rubbed her throat.

"It's a titan. You don't want to see one when it's awake. Hopefully you'll never have to," he replied. "You're not from around here, right?"

She shook her head. "No…I don't know where I am at all. I don't…I don't know this whole place at all," she said, her voice still a hoarse whisper.

The man seemed to understand what she was saying and nodded at her reassuringly. "We'll get you back to where you were. Don't worry." He patted her hand. "I'm Moblit Berner."

"Petra Ral," she said. She didn't know if she could trust him but he was the only hope she had if she wanted to leave the forest without losing her mind. If she met another one of those giants, she didn't know what she'd do. "What was that thing back there?" She wasn't sure she even wanted to know but she still had to ask.

Moblit grimaced. "A titan. One of the larger ones actually but the smaller ones are still able to move around at night so I guess you were lucky there." He looked around them, scanning his eyes. "Just forget about it. You'll never have to see one after tonight. We'll get you to Rivaille as quickly as possible."

"I don't think I can ever forget something that awful," she replied with a shaky laugh.

After a long while of walking, there was a horse. Moblit helped her up and followed her up, steering the horse and having it gallop as fast as possible. "You'll forget," he reassured her. "They all do."

"Do you know where I'm from?" she asked. She had a feeling he knew even though coming from a completely different world seemed so insane.

"I do. You're from the Other World," he responded, not looking at her.

"Is this normal?" she asked him. The wind made her hair whip around her face violently and she wished she had a hair tie with her. "Coming from my world and landing here?"

"Yes," he told her. For some reason, she had a feeling he wasn't look back at her on purpose. He wanted to hide the look on his face. "We'll get you back." He kept saying this like a mantra. She wondered how often he had said this to other people and whether or not what he spoke was the truth.

xxxxx

There were repeated whispers about someone who would be able to lead Petra out of this nightmare of world teeming with these hellish titans, some person named Rivaille, when Moblit had taken to her to his comrades. Petra was sharing a horse with a small boy with a shaved head who had eagerly introduced himself as Connie Springer, one of the newest members of this squad. He seemed quite proud of it but Petra was too bewildered over the past events to offer any congrats to the boy. After Moblit had shared her story with the other members of his group, all they could talk about was Rivaille.

"What's Rivaille?" Petra asked Connie, holding onto his waist.

"Who is Rivaille," a chipper girl riding beside them corrected her. The girl had a bright face and had her brown hair tied into a ponytail. She had earlier introduced herself as Sasha Braus, a new recruit like Connie. Both Sasha and Connie seemed rather young, Petra realized. They had to be at least five years younger than her. "And he's a legend in the Underground! Connie and I have never been on a rescue mission to return one of you Other Worlders to the other side but, now that we've found you, we can meet Rivaille! I mean, it sucks that you had to go through all of this, but don't worry. You're in good hands!" The girl seemed so excited just thinking about the mysterious Rivaille that Petra was afraid she'd fall off of her horse.

"People say that he's got the power of a thousand soldiers in his pinky," Connie whispered dramatically. "They call him Humanity's Strongest."

"Humanity's Strongest, huh?" Petra echoed, fighting the urge to not sound sarcastic. This world was unbelievable enough, but a man with the strength of a thousand? She was in desperate need of a break or at least a hint that there was at least some normalcy in this universe. While it would have been nice to have someone like Humanity's Strongest to help her get back to her own world, his description so far seemed over exaggerated, like a children's fairytale hero.

"Hey, kids, stop feeding the outsider nonsense," a woman called from ahead of them. If Petra recalled correctly, her name was Nanaba and Moblit had told her that the older woman was one of the more experienced soldiers. Knowing that there was someone who knew what they were doing made Petra a little less uneasy, albeit not by much. "Don't pay any attention to them, Miss Ral. Rivaille's just the most qualified person to coordinate your return to the Other World."

"I see…" Petra murmured. A heavy question weighed in the back of her mind. "What about my boyfriend? I saw him fall into the crack too. But there was a man with him. An unpleasant-looking man with a grim expression." She remembered seeing them disappear into the crack, one moment there and the next moment gone. The thought made her shiver.

"Your boyfriend is here too?" Sasha asked, doing little to contain her excitement. The girl waved ecstatically to her friend Connie. "Let's go find him! Another mission to save the people of the Other World, come on!"

Nanaba glared at the two teenagers. She would have probably smacked the two teenagers on the head if they were close enough. "Don't be so insensitive. The poor girl has already been through enough without you two making light of it." Petra didn't even bother telling the woman that she was twenty-two and hardly a girl anymore. It didn't seem important compared to the issue of her missing and possibly dead boyfriend. Just thinking about him in ending up in the belly of those titans sent shivers up her spine. "We'll have to relay a message to another squad to go find your boyfriend, Miss Ral. Your safety is our first priority right now.'

Connie and Sasha mumbled sheepish apologies but Petra was too numb from her previous experiences to particularly care what they were gossiping about. Hardly anything was making sense to her anymore.

"So you're saying we're just going to leave him here? In this forest full of monsters?" Her fingers dug into Connie's sides angrily and the poor kid yelped. She didn't want to take her anger out on him, but she couldn't help it. Why would they leave anyone alone and defenseless in this place?

Moblit and Nanaba exchanged glances. "We're going to do everything to make sure that the both of you return to your world safely," Moblit told her, his voice low and soothing. "It won't do us any good if you're out here while we search for him, and I have a feeling that your boyfriend would want you to get back to the Other World as soon as possible. Please understand, Miss Ral."

She bit her lip and rested her head on Connie's back. "I understand," she said quietly. "I'm sorry if I hurt you earlier, Connie."

Connie let out a good-natured laugh, trying to ease the tension of the situation. "Don't worry, Miss Ral. I've been put through some pretty rough training and that didn't hurt a bit! And don't worry about your boyfriend. We'll make sure both of you guys make it back safely."

His words, though earnest, did little to make her feel better. He was a new recruit, not as experienced as Nanaba and Moblit. He could make these promises easily because he didn't realize how often they turned out to be empty. Nanaba and Moblit were more realistic. Nevertheless, she politely smiled at him and thanked him for his help.

Nanaba rode up to the pair on her horse, a notepad out and a pen in her hand. "A short description of your boyfriend so that we can recognize him," she said, looking at Petra expectantly.

"Tall, very tall," Petra murmured. "With blond hair, normally slicked back." She prattled off every detail she remembered about him, every facial feature and what he was wearing before she saw him slip into the crack in the wall. This whole thing, she thought, was more and more like a weird dream she couldn't wake up from the longer she was here. But even her worst imagination could make up something as grotesque as those titans.

"Braus, with me," Nanaba said, shutting the notebook smartly and tucking it away in her jacket pocket. "And no fooling around or I'm leaving you in the woods."

"Yes, ma'am," Sasha muttered. She turned back to wave at Connie and Petra. "I'll see you later, Connie. And have a safe trip back, Miss Ral."

She nodded but she wasn't really listening. The whole trip to the Scouting Legion's headquarters she just numbly held onto Connie, only smiling at the jokes he made out of courtesy. Moblit made little conversation, seeming to understand silently that she didn't wish to talk. All she could think about was how she wanted to get out of this place as fast as possible, how much she wished she could wake up and find Erwin next to her fast asleep in bed, how she wanted to will this to be all part of her twisted imagination. But no matter hard she shut her eyes, she would open her eyes to find herself still in the Underground.

xxxxx

The three finally made it to an underground tunnel, their horses tucked away in a stable nearby, which was rather sketchy to Petra, but she didn't say anything about it considering this was her last option.

"Springer, please head down to the supply room with Bodt. We'll be needing supplies for Ral's return to the Otherworld," Moblit ordered.

Connie scrunched his face up. "I wanted to see Rivaille!" he whined childishly.

"He's not an animal to gape at," Moblit scolded. "Now off you go or I'll tell Shadis to make you run extra laps tomorrow morning."

Connie let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine," he huffed. He put a hand on Petra's shoulder and gave her a huge grin. "I'll be sure to put some extra good stuff in your pack, Ms. Ral."

"Thanks, Connie." She couldn't help but smile as the boy briskly made his way to the supply room. Petra continued to follow Moblit through the winding tunnels under ground, the dark paths dimly lit by lanterns every couple of feet. "Do you make these trips often," she asked casually. She sensed that Moblit didn't like giving out excessive information, but perhaps if she acted like she was just making conversation he would let his guard down. It wouldn't do her any good if she were completely in the dark about the chances of her getting out.

"Not actually," he confessed. "But if you've made it this far, you're highly likely to get back to your world with no harm done."

"So there have been others?" she asked curiously, her amber eyes flickering over to him. "And they don't usually make it out alive."

Moblit looked startled, a red flush beginning to creep across his cheeks. "That's not what I meant!" he protested, but he was tripping over his words, making it seem more and more likely that he was lying to her. "I…Miss Ral, this isn't something you need to hear."

Petra glared at him. "I know you mean well, Moblit, but I think I'd less of a basket case of anxiety if I knew the chances my boyfriend stood out there," she hissed. She wasn't normally this vicious, but she was definitely no one to be messed with when she wanted something.

The poor man sighed and ran a hand through his hair, defeated. "Miss Ral, the probability of people surviving with no previous training to face the titans is next to nothing. While there is a chance that others in the legion encountered while searching for Other Worlders like you, his chances of survival grow slimmer and slimmer with every minute closer to the sun rising and the titans waking up." He looked guiltily over at her. "But you must trust us. We'll try to get both of you out safely."

"Thank you," Petra said softly. "That's what I wanted to know."

He muttered something about needing a drink or maybe five after this whole ordeal but Petra pretended not to hear. It wasn't long before they stopped a door. Moblit looked over at Petra and took a while to think about what to say. "Before we meet Rivaille, there's something you ought to know about him," Moblit confessed, glancing to the door. "He isn't particularly that eloquent so he might come off as rude to some. But he's good at what he does, so please bear with him while we get you out."

"So he's sure to get me out, but he's also a jackass," Petra said.  
Moblit gave her a wry grin. "Something like that," he chuckled.

"Well, if he's my only hope, I can't really do anything about it," she sighed. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "But, really. Thanks for everything, Moblit. Even telling me the things you didn't want me to know." She felt a little guilty forcing him to tell her everything. He was a nice guy, really.

"It's okay, Miss Ral. You did have a right to know. It was wrong of me to withhold that information from you." His arm was extended toward the door, ready to knock on it. He gave her a small smile. "I sincerely hope that we get you back home quickly, Miss Ral." Moblit rapped his knuckles briskly three times against the door.

"It's open," a voice on the other side said.

"Rivaille," Moblit said, opening the door and allowing Petra to step in first. "I found this girl from the Other World this evening in the forest. We're going to have to schedule another return mission for her and quickly. It's been getting more and more dangerous out there. She told us that her boyfriend is also out there as well, but we haven't found him yet. Nanaba and one of the newest recruits are out searching for him right now. I suggest we get the girl first and worry about her partner when he's found, Captain." He stood straight, legs together, and put his right fist on his heart in a strange salute.

A short man stood at the desk at the other side of the room. His short, black hair was styled in a neat undercut. Petra would have mistaken him to be young, as young as her maybe, because of his short stature and youthful face if it hadn't been for his stern gaze and the dark circles under his eyes. His eyes, dark and stormy gray, looked like they had seen a lifetime of the titans she had only briefly encountered in the forest. That could age a person. He didn't sport the attire that Petra had seen Moblit and the rest of the Scouting Legion wear so far, instead opting for a white collared shirt with his collar popped, a brown vest buttoned over it, and black jeans. "And does this girl have a name?" He gave a lazy once-over to Petra, tilting his head as he looked at her.

Petra boldly took a step around Moblit. "Petra Ral, _Captain_ ," she answered, her chin lifted up slightly. She'd be damned if she was going to be the quivering damsel in distress for her whole entire journey. She was scared, yes, but it wasn't going to help her if she was going to hide in the corner and it certainly wouldn't help Erwin.

Rivaille smiled at her sudden show of bravery. "Not bad, Miss Ral," he said. "Not bad."

* * *

 _A/N: I apologize for the large gap! I never intended to leave this fic here for months without updates. But I hope this makes up for it! I'll try to have another chapter up sometime next month. (Is it weird how I always have an urge to write fanfic when I'm supposed to be studying for finals? It's like those things are related or something.) Again, thank you for all of the favorites/follows/reviews! I really love getting feedback from you guys!_


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